Ibekimi Oriamaja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured that the Osun governorship election on July 16 will be decided on the first ballot.
To accomplish this, the Commission announced that it will send five National Commissioners and 12 Resident Electoral Commissioners to oversee the election.
Baba Akali, the Inspector General of Police, also revealed that 21,000 operatives will be drafted for the election to protect the process.
The Returning Officer, Joseph Fuwape, declared the 2018 governorship election inconclusive after the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Ademola Adeleke, received 254,698 votes and Governor Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) received 254,345 votes.
While declaring the election inconclusive, Fuwape stated that the total number of registered voters in the five polling units where elections were canceled was 3,498 votes, which was greater than the difference between the votes of the two leading candidates.
After the rerun election, Oyetola was declared the winner.
Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of INEC, gave the assurance at a stakeholders’ meeting in Oshogbo, the state capital.
Yakubu also reassured political parties that it will remain neutral, adding that the election will be decided by the electorate.
According to him, the Commission has learned from the identified issues in the conduct of the State’s 2018 governorship election.
“With each election, we learn lessons, and with each subsequent election, we improve on the previous election,” he said. Yes, we agree that there were issues in the Osun governorship election in 2018, but we have learned lessons from that election, which is why we are deploying five National Commissioners and 12 RECs this time around to support the process being handled by our state office, so I have learned lessons and you will see a much improved process in 2022.
“Let me reassure political parties, candidates, and the electorate that the choice of who becomes the next Governor of Osun State is entirely in the hands of voters,” INEC said. As I have stated repeatedly in previous meetings with stakeholders, INEC will not take any action to benefit or disadvantage any political party or candidate. Our emphasis is on the legal processes and procedures.
“So far, we have successfully carried out 12 of the 14 activities outlined in the Election Timetable and Schedule of Activities.” The only two outstanding activities are the last day of political party campaigning, which ends at midnight on Thursday, July 14, 2022, and Election Day activities on Saturday, July 16, 2022.”
“The Commission has taken every step and made every arrangement for the successful conduct of the Governorship election this weekend,” the INEC Chair added. We held consultations with political parties and candidates. We had several interactions with security agencies at the national, state, and local levels.
“We held stakeholder meetings.” We sought and received royal fathers’ and religious leaders’ blessings. We have recruited, trained, and thoroughly screened all types of ad hoc personnel who will be deployed to the field. All non-sensitive election materials have been delivered to all 30 Local Government Area offices across the state.
“Education and sensitization of voters is ongoing.” We have made plans for personnel and material transportation to ensure that polling places open on time on Election Day. We are deploying five National Commissioners, twelve Resident Electoral Commissioners, and many senior officials to support our State office here in Osun in delivering credible elections.”
Concerning the storage and security of sensitive materials for Saturday’s election, Yakubu stated that arrangements have been made to store them at the INEC state office, following the suspension of the long-standing arrangement with the CBN.
On vote buying, he stated, “The Commission has repeatedly stated that the issue of vote buying should be everyone’s concern, not just what the Electoral Commission can do, what we’ve done, but ultimately it is an enforcement issue, and enforcement must be through prosecution.”
“Ultimately, it is an enforcement issue, and thus a matter for security agencies to continue to work to arrest and prosecute offenders; we are actually looking forward to the day.” We are concerned not only about apprehending and prosecuting vote buyers, but also about their sponsors. In most cases, vote buyers and ballot snatchers are not likely to be beneficiaries of the election; they are agents sponsored by some of the people, so as long as we don’t catch the “big fish,” the problem will persist, but we will continue to take whatever steps are within the law to stem the tide.
“It’s a big issue for INEC because every time we take steps to improve the process, some people use their diabolical means to subvert the process, so we’re deeply concerned about it like every other Nigerian.”
Prof. Kunle Ajayi, the Supervising National Commissioner for Ogun, Ondo, and Osun States, stated that the successful conduct of the election is dependent on voter disposition.
After the successful completion of the Ekiti Governorship Election, all eyes and attention have shifted to Osun State for the upcoming governorship election, according to him.
“As a result, INEC, led by Hon. Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has increased activities in preparation for the Osun Election, which is expected to consolidate and improve on the success of the Ekiti Election.”
“In order to accomplish this great feat, the commission has harvested the challenges and lessons learned in previous Anambra elections as well as the recently concluded Ekiti governorship election to improve our processes and procedures under the 2022 Electoral Act.”
“It should be noted, however, that the onus is on the good people of Osun State to turn out in large numbers, conduct themselves peacefully, and exercise their franchise.”
